Just a suggestion on this:Lead is also wonderfully malleable. Unless the ingot is too big it is possible to simply pound the lead into flat-ish sheets with a BIG hammer. You can roll them up, fold them up. Even use them as a lethal frisbee...
EM. Dan H. wrote:
I'm sure scrap iron would work but for the average P-Sub your talking only a few hundred pounds of weight. I visited the local tire shops and collected used tire weights. They were only to happy to give me pails of them to get them out of the way. They are heavier then iron of equal mass and they melt and mold into what ever shape you need relatively easy. Dan H. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Coalbunny" <coalbunny@vcn.com> To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 8:12 AM Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] battery acid? & battery issue follow upWhat about scrap iron? Carl Dan H. wrote:Carl, Sand or gravel is to light for ballast in a sub. It's mass is so muchmorethen lead for the same weight that it's impractical in a compact sub. A load of gravel in a pickup truck pretty much fills the box. If it were lead, it would be a sheet on the bottom of the floor. Remember it only the displacement over and above what the same mass ofwaterweighs that's effective as ballast. Dan H. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Coalbunny" <coalbunny@vcn.com> To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 5:49 AM Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] battery acid? & battery issue follow upShawn, that is something that I have wondered about- will the ballast shift? I have read how a number of scientific units used lead or steel shot. Is there anything that prohibits that being used? IIRC at one time even mercury was used. Of course we know the environmental implications from that. One thing I thought of using that should be cost effective and would be environmentally friendly is the use of sand or gravel. But since I have no real unit to use that ballast method with, I have no idea if it'll work. Carl NeophyteSG@aol.com wrote:In a message dated 2/16/04 5:47:29 AM Pacific Standard Time, Asmyth@changepoint.com writes: Because Solo is intended as a "flying" sub, it's designed to have a very small self-righting moment. [snip] If Solo had conventional stability, she could never roll or fly inverted. Totally understand. My design is facing similar constraints exceptthatall my nonessentials are fared external to the pressure hull which,Sgt.Pepper-ish, is much smaller than yours appears to be. In my case, I'm juggling axiometric placement of everything in the horizontal and vertical planes through the hull's longitudinal axis, leaving the drop weight(s) placement until near the end to essentially force therightingmoment equations to balance. I also liked the idea of essentiallybeingable to use just about everything except the pressure hull as a drop weight should the absolute need arise. What gave me a worse headache was trying to figure out a functional ballast system for a craft which will hypothetically have six degreesoffreedom, won't "slosh" around (changing the center of buoyancy), and will work no matter what the orientation of the craft ... including upside down. Given the batteries are snug against the hull "ceiling", I can't reach the lugs to connect the cables unless they are upside down. Plus, I don't want the lugs shorting out against the hull. If they cannot go upside down, I'll probably have to lower everything by about 3". Plus, all the cables will now be a few inches too short. Aside from simply not having the room, you're making me glad that I chose to mount all but the two emergency reserve batteries outboard ... not meaning to take pleasure from your pain. :) In a message dated 2/16/04 7:00:24 AM Pacific Standard Time, Asmyth@changepoint.com writes: The Lifelines can be used in any position, but only chargedupright.The Optimas can be used or charged in any position at all. Unfortunately, I can't do a straight replacement because Optima doesn't make a battery as large as the ones I'm using. So it looks like I need to modify my hardware and calculations to turn them right side up FWIW, possible KISS solution: Incorporate a pivot and latch into the mounting hardware whereby you can drop them down into an upright position for charging -- when you won't be occupying that space -- then latch them back upside down and against the hull during dives. If the current cabling reaches the lugs in their upside down position, you won't even have to lengthen them because they'll just need to rotate 180-degrees. Make sense? Warm Regards Shawn ***** "Call nothing thy own except thy soul. Love not what thou art, but only what thou may become. Do not pursue pleasure, for thou may have the misfortune to overtakeit...Live in the vision of that one for whom great deeds are done ..." Man of LaMancha, D. Wasserman-- Spotted Owl...it's what's for dinner.-- Spotted Owl...it's what's for dinner.